In the past, many attempts have been made to provide an apparatus and a process for filling cans with a "hard to pack" material such as string beans or other elongated, limp vegetable. A number of patents have been issued, including the following:
Greco (U.S. Pat. No. 1,235,680) which shows shearing knives for cutting off the ends of beans protruding from the mold prior to pushing them in a can.
Gardner, et al (U.S. Pat. No. 2,048,156) which relates to a machine for bunching, cutting and canning "Vienna" type sausages.
Taylor (U.S. Pat. No. 2,092,786) which relates to a machine for canning pineapples.
DEBack (U.S. Pat. No. 2,190,936) related to a process of packing carrots or corn on the cob (tapered articles). This patent shows knives for cutting off the extending ends of the cob and shows a plunger for pushing the corn from the mold into a can.
Thompson (U.S. Pat. No. 2,467,278) covers a turret machine for arranging, cutting and canning string beans. The beans are arranged and cut and then inserted into the can.
Christensen et al (U.S. Pat. No. 2,769,291) which relates to canning beans or asparagus. In this apparatus a closure box holds the beans, the beans are cut, and then a plunger forces the beans into a can.
None of these patents show shearing the beans, or other similar vegetable, while they are already in the can. Instead, they show placing the beans in a mold or some other closure, shearing the ends of the beans, and then inserting the cut beans into a can.